Pastoral Letter 5

9 April 2020

Dear Members of St. Andrew’s Uniting Church, Friends and Adherents,

Hope you are all well and safe.

I’m writing this fifth letter during Holy week, also known as “Passion Week”. This week, we remember the events of our Lord, Jesus Christ, in the last week of His earthly ministry. After His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, Jesus went to the Temple and when He saw the things people and religious leaders of that time were doing, was angry and furious. As we read in the Gospels, He turned the tables and said that His Father’s House should be a House of Prayer. In the following days He spent time with His disciples and gave His final instructions, but most importantly He prepared them for the things that were going to happen in the next few days – that He will be handed to the authorities, suffer and die. But He will rise again, victoriously conquering death. The disciples were terrified and somehow disappointed and afraid.

Jesus was crucified on Friday on Calvary. We will not be able to meet tomorrow in the church sanctuary to have our Good Friday Service to share the solemn day together. So, with this email and the attached Order of Service as an alternative, I ask you to follow the Order on Friday morning at 9:30 am as you have done in the previous three weeks, by reading the script, the Prayers, Responsive Reading, Bible Readings and sing the hymns and think about all those who are worshiping with you at the same time. I am attaching the hymns in music and video format, to make it easy for you to sing along. Just double click on the attached file and your computer will do the rest.

I am glad and grateful you are faithfully doing this with me; praying, singing and reading the summary of the message that you will find below, meditating on it further to see what more God is saying to you. I am grateful also, for your offerings, which are one of the best ways to express our gratitude and thanks to God for keeping us safe and being with us at this very challenging time, as day by day, week by week it is becoming more difficult.

Last Sunday afternoon/evening I tried to call everyone, but unfortunately, I missed some people. I will call this weekend to those I missed last Sunday. I will continue writing to you every week with a similar message and urge you to do the same, until such time when we will be able to meet again on our church premises. We are already missing the company of our sisters and brothers in Christ, the fellowship and the singing.

Please keep writing to me during the week if you have enjoyed the Service and the message summary. I will greatly appreciate and be happy to hear from you.

Please keep communicating with me for anything you need. I am more than happy to assist you, besides praying for you. If need be, I am happy to come and see you face to face but respecting the current social distancing regulations. In the meantime, please communicate with each other with phone calls and keep informed everyone, with any new developments that happen with you, your family or any congregation member that you know is having any problems. I will try to call everyone this weekend to catch up with you.

Keep on praying and leave everything in the hands of our great God, who is our refuge and strength.

Krikor

Your Minister

NOTE: When I was talking with David and Margaret Cant, David mentioned that last week Margaret had cataract surgery on one eye. The operation was successful, and she is recovering and doing well. Please remember her in your prayers.

Also pray for all those who are feeling alone at this difficult time, especially those who live on their own, single, in their homes.

Please keep praying for everyone. Pray for those who are lonely and in need. Remember your brothers and sisters, the members of our congregation, the neighbouring congregations, the UCA, your neighbours, your friends, our state and the territories, Australia and the whole world. Seek God’s care and protection.

Message Summary

It Is Finished!

John 19:1-42

Good Friday is the most solemn day of the entire church year. This day has also been called Holy Friday and Black Friday.

It is “GOOD,” because God accomplished the salvation of all humankind and the whole creation in the person of His Son Jesus on that last Friday of His life in this world. He finished the task He had come to the world to do and at the end He said: “It is finished” and His task was done. The victory itself was still yet to come on Easter morning, but this was the most difficult part, the torture and the suffering, in very unimaginable and painful way. But He endured to the end and gave all He had on the hard and rugged cross of Calvary. As it was the end, it also ushered the beginning of a new era in which the heavens and the earth were made completely new.

However, it is also “HOLY”. It is the day when God made the ultimate sacrifice to fulfil the requirements of God’s own self, which no one but God could fulfil. Only God who was, is and ever shall be without sin was able to completely win the battle over the powers of sin, evil and death.

As we consider John’s Passion account of that first Good Friday, it is proper to remind ourselves of how John saw Jesus. He presented Jesus as being completely and confidently in control of His own destiny. He carried his own cross. For John, everything that happened to Jesus during his Passion happened in order to fulfil the scriptures. The Passion of Jesus is therefore predestined by God; everything went according to God’s plan.

But how on earth we will say “It is finished”, and that everything is good and back to normal, when we consider the situation that we and the whole world are in. When will we be able to utter those words for the deadly pandemic we and the whole world are facing? Will we be around when such time comes to say: “Yes, indeed, it is finished”.

Maybe we can compare our situation with what happened almost 2,000 years ago on Calvary, when Jesus said His final words at the end of His earthly ministry. We hope and pray that we will not be at the end of our earthly journey, when we will say that it is finished, that the virus is gone. But the common theme in what we are facing today with the whole world and Good Friday is the matter of life and death. We have to acknowledge that in both cases we have pain, suffering, agony and death. But there is and will be victory, and good will come for those who put their trust in God.

In light of this, we turn now to Christ’s last three words on the cross according to John, as recorded in chapter nineteen, verse thirty:

“When Jesus had received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”

Something was finished when Christ suffered and died on the cross, but Christ’s “finished work” actually continues until the fullness of time. The word “finished” is not only referring to the end of Christ’s physical suffering, but it is a cry of victory in the sense that Jesus accomplished what God had sent him in this world to do.

In this sense, it is like the athlete who enters a race with the intention of both reaching the finishing line and coming in first.

It is like the student reaching the goal of completing the course with success.

It is like the author who after years of research finally completes the work.

For John the words of Jesus, “It is finished,” are the climax of Christ’s life and ministry; the words are spoken by the King of kings on his throne, which was the cross. Jesus won the victory over sin, evil and death by willingly, and lovingly allowing himself to submit to these powers. In so doing, he defeated them.

When Jesus suffered and died on the cross, God opened up the door to include everyone and everything in His love, thanks to Christ’s suffering and death on the cross. John 19:30 says, “When Jesus had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished!” With that he bowed His head and gave up His spirit”. The cruel execution that Jesus suffered is summed up in these three words.

Those three words, “It is finished” come from one Greek word tetelestai. The word is unfamiliar to us, but in those days, it was used in everyday life. A servant would use it when reporting to his or her master, “I have completed the work assigned to me.” When a priest examined an animal sacrifice and found it faultless, this word would apply.

The word means, “It is finished, it stands finished, and it always will be finished.” These words specify not the end of Jesus’ life, but the completion of His task. The verb is perfect tense. “It is finished!” The purpose of His hour has been completed, and the consequences of His work are enduring. What then do we learn about the completion of our redemption?

The words, “It is finished” provide us four glorious benefits.

1. Atonement for Sin

Jesus’ death conquered sin and our sins were taken away.

In 1 John 1:7 we read: “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.”

And in Ephesians 1:7 Paul says: “In Him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.”

Jesus also conquered death. He died as a substitute for everyone and by His death He reconciled us with God.

Hebrews 2:9 says: “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honour because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. “

And in Galatians 4:4–5 Paul says: “When the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under Law, to redeem those under the Law, that we might receive the full rights of sons”.

And in Romans 5:8-11 he says: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved by his life! Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation”.

2. Access to the Holy of Holies

Because of Christ’s death we have access to God. According to the Old Covenant, no one was allowed access to the Holy of Holies but the High Priest on the Day of Atonement which occurred once a year.

Hebrews 10:19-22 says: “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”

And Hebrews 4:16 says: “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

Also, because of His death, no more sacrifices are needed for our redemption. Christ’s sacrifice is effective because it removes sin, which the other covenant could never do. The New Covenant went from ineffective sacrifices to the one perfectly effective sacrifice.

3. Acceptance by God

Through Christ’s death we are acceptable to God and through His death, there is no more enmity and hostility.

In Ephesians 1:3-6 Paul says: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.”

And in Ephesians 2:14-15 he says: “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing in his flesh the law with commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace.

4. Assurance of Salvation

Jesus’ death provides and guarantees full assurance of Salvation, because His sacrifice was perfect it never needs to be repeated.

The death of Jesus Christ removes sin forever for those who belong to Him. We are totally secure in our Saviour. We need cleansing when we fall into sin, but we need never fear God’s judgment on us because of our sin. As far as Christ’s sacrifice is concerned, we have already been sanctified and perfected which is why He had to sacrifice Himself only once.

Hebrews 10:14 says: “Because by one sacrifice he has made perfected forever those who are being made holy.”

And in 1 Peter 1:3-5 peter says: “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade ̶ kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.“

What does Jesus’ death mean? No more sacrifices, no more sin bearing, no more curse for the chosen of God!

“It is finished!” “The entire work of redemption has been brought to completion.”

Yes, “It is finished” in the sense that Jesus our Lord accomplished His task, but it is not the end. On the contrary it is a new beginning and this new beginning is sealed by His resurrection which we will celebrate on Easter morning.

It is a new start and a fresh start for us.

We pray, hope and look forward to the day when we will say “It is finished” too. The pandemic is done and dusted. We will emerge out of this anew to start fresh, because it will be finished.

But I pray and hope that we, as humans, don’t go back to what we were and how we used to live our lives; careless, indifferent, unconcerned, uncaring, selfish, unloving and self-centred. People who just think about their gain and benefit, authorities and rulers who dictate on people and spread corruption, only thinking about their own self. Governments will hopefully act fairly and support the people; they are called to lead and provide.

We look forward to the day, when we all say together, “It is finished”, the evil is gone, people are safe, the world is safe. But again, let me remind you that without Christ and His suffering and death in the formula, this day will not be “Good”, nor the day when it is really “Finished”.

Amen